Grazing tables are a beautiful new twist on buffet style eating. If you have spent any time on pinterest or instagram, you have probably seen the abundance of delicious foods spread across a gorgeous old farm table, out in the middle of the beautiful southern countryside.
Unfortunately, for most of us, creating grazing tables like this is not a reality and we need to make due with what we have. That is why I have come up with 8 creative to make the base of your grazing table not only affordable, but as beautiful as possible.
No matter how beautiful your table is, i highly recommend placing something between your table and the food. Many people may be turned off by the idea of eating food straight off of a table.
Here are 8 ideas to help you create a more beautiful grazing table surface.
1. Butcher Paper
Butcher paper is a favorite among caterers and event planners. It is inexpensive and makes clean up a snap. Simply lay down a layer of butcher paper on top of your bare table and start decorating.
Depending on the color of your table and how much of the surface will show, you can go with a traditional brown butcher paper or choose a white version instead.
If your table is a natural wood, dark or black table, I would go with the brown butcher paper. However, if your table is painted white, or a light shade of other color, white would be a better choice.
Butcher paper comes in large rolls. An 18″ x 175′ roll starts at around $15 and goes up in price depending on color and size. You can get multiple uses out of one roll.
2. Greens
While I like the idea of butcher paper to cover the top surface of your table, I am not so crazy about the edges of the paper showing. That is why, along with the butcher paper, I highly recommend using greens of some sort to create a border around the edge of your grazing table. They are essential to the finished appearance of your design.
Silver dollar eucalyptus is the most widely used green for grazing tables. It looks amazing as a border because of the abundance of small coin shaped leaves. When you layer the stems liberally on top of each other, it creates a solid blanket of greens, covering the edges of your paper and table.
Small palm leaves create a fun festive look to a table. They add interest, but don’t necessarily cover every square inch.
If you have small pockets of space on your grazing table that you want to fill in, herbs work really well. My favorite are rosemary or mint. They are rich in color, and hearty, yet delicate too.
For a complete guide on the best greens to use for your grazing table or charcuterie board, how to care for them and where to get them at the best price, check out my complete guide on greens.
3.Citrus
If you haven’t looked at a citrus tree lately, you may have missed how beautiful and green their leaves are.
The contrast between the dark green of the leaves and the rich colors of the fruit not only create visual interest and a beautiful aroma, but they are great for covering a large area.
If you are lucky enough to live in places like Arizona or Florida, you may have access to these beautiful trees in your own backyard. You can use them as a runner down the middle of your table or bunch them together like the eucalyptus leaves to make a picturesque border around the edges.
4. Banana Leaves
Although technically, banana leaves would be considered greens, they deserve their own section.
Banana leaves are used differently then eucalyptus leaves or herbs. Banana leaves have a very large surface area. A single leaf can grow to a size of 9’x2′. Now, the banana leaves that we have access to won’t be quite that large.
The idea is to cover the surface of your table with a layer of banana leaves, creating a fully covered bed of greens for your food to sit on. Leave a small edge of the table exposed around the edges of the leaves for contrast.
* Make sure that you clean your leaves with soap and water before placing food on them.
5. Flowers
Along with greens, flowers can create a stunning border around the edge of your grazing table.
Buying enough flowers to make a border around the edge of your table can be quite costly, so I recommend using them as a supplement to greenery, inserting a few here and there.
Some of my favorite are flowers to use on grazing tables are roses and ranunculus. They are classy, elegant and add timeless charm to any table.
For a more festive table, or if you are using greens like banana leaves or palm leaves, you could go with a more exotic flower like hibiscus, orchids or jasmine.
I love the website flowermoxie.com. They are a floral website with the most amazing inspiration ideas. If you look at their collections, you can get thousands of ideas, based on color themes.
Wholesale florists have taken to the internet and made flowers available to everyday consumers at wholesale costs. The only downside to wholesale florists is that you may have to buy in larger quantities to get the discounted price.
For a review of my favorite online florist (including Flower Moxie), check out my post on How to Buy Flowers Wholesale: and Cut Out the Middleman.
6. Faux tabletops (made with real wood)
If you do not like the surface of your current table, and want a quick fix, consider making a faux wood table top.
There are a couple of ways you can do this.
1. You can buy individual pieces of wood at a hardware store and have them cut to the length of your table.
Buy enough to cover the whole width of your table. Then refinish them to you liking. You can white wash, stain, or paint the surface.
Attach them together on the underside with brackets. That way the individual boards won’t shift while guests are taking food off the table.
2. Another thing you can do is use wood pallets.
Like the wood from the hardware store, you can refinish the pallets and attach them together on the underneath side with brackets. I would recommend getting the highest quality pallets you can find. They will look much cleaner and take to the stain or paint better.
If the individual boards on the pallets are spread too far apart, I would recommend removing the boards and nailing them closer together. You will need to disassemble extra pallets to get the additional boards. If the spaces are too large between boards, the food will fall in between. Then you can either attach the finished pallets together into one long row, or keep them separate.
3. Old reclaimed farmwood would look amazing as a faux table top. It may require some leg work to find the right pieces. You can try looking at antique stores, ask a farmer in your area if he has any extra he would sell you, or keep an eye out around town for anyone selling old wood at a garage or estate sale.
7. Festive Tablecloth
If you want to cover up your entire table, legs included, your best bet is to find a festive tablecloth that fits the theme of your party or event. You can use an actual tablecloth, unique piece of fabric or an organic material like burlap.
Keep in mind that tablecloths are absorbent and may be difficult to clean afterword. To avoid staining, you can either lay a plastic cover or butcher paper over the top surface of the table cloth and disguise the edges with greens or flowers.
You can also opt to use multiple surfaces like in #8 below on top of your table cloth, leaving some areas exposed below.
8. Multiple surfaces
If you want to add interest to the surface of your table, but don’t want to create your own faux surface, or purchase any additional supplies, you can create smaller surface zones on your table.
By using what you already have in your kitchen, you can create smaller areas on your table using things like, wood or marble cutting boards, serving platters, charcuterie boards, large pans or plates, or any other serving dish that stands out on its own and will add beauty or interest to the surface of your grazing table.
Hopefully, one of these ideas will work for you and you can feel confident that no matter what your table starts out looking like. You now have the tools you need to create a beautiful surface for your next grazing table.
layer citrus and leaves